GAZA CITY – Israel pounded Gaza with air strikes and tank shells Saturday, killing four activists, Palestinian officials said, as Palestinian missiles reached deeper into Israel in the most intense round of fighting since the Gaza war. In all, 18 Gazans have been killed and more than 65 wounded since Israel unleashed the strikes following an attack on an Israeli school bus Thursday. After Israel's devastating military offensive in the winter of 2008-2009, Gaza's Hamas rulers had largely observed a cease-fire. Israel, in turn, has pledged to strike back hard for the bus attack, in an attempt to restore the deterrence created by the Gaza war. Early Saturday, an Israeli airstrike struck a car near Rafah in southern Gaza, killing three Hamas activists. Hamas said one of its top commanders, 29-year-old Tayser Abu Snima, and two of his assistants were killed.
